Top Chef - New Orleans - season thread (spoilers)

It looked like there were many inconsistencies on both sides allowing Nina's stubborn insistence to include a desert to cost her in the end. When she found out she couldn't make the one desert that she knew she could execute? She should have 86'd the desert.

Congrats to Nick, who managed to hang around and get hot in the end. Well, you gotta be in it to win it! When will the Top Chef All-Stars come out to give Nina the title many think she deserved alla what they did with Blais?

It looked like there were many inconsistencies on both sides allowing Nina's stubborn insistence to include a desert to cost her in the end. When she found out she couldn't make the one desert that she knew she could execute? She should have 86'd the desert.

Congrats to Nick, who managed to hang around and get hot in the end. Well, you gotta be in it to win it! When will the Top Chef All-Stars come out to give Nina the title many think she deserved alla what they did with Blais?

Click to expand...

But without something to replace it, she was kinda screwed. She was missing a course and had to make something with what she had on hand.

But without something to replace it, she was kinda screwed. She was missing a course and had to make something with what she had on hand.

Click to expand...

I believe they mentioned that she did more (2?) courses than the required 4. Even If she had thrown together some sort of savory course, it was bound to be better than a thrown together desert. She admits deserts are a weakness of hers as do most savory chefs. I still think that when her desert plan fell through? Her plan to make desert should have fallen through too.

I think she'll be back for the next All-Stars and she'll likely win it. She should hook up with Blais on a project, they have a lot in common!

I believe they mentioned that she did more (2?) courses than the required 4. Even If she had thrown together some sort of savory course, it was bound to be better than a thrown together desert. She admits deserts are a weakness of hers as do most savory chefs. I still think that when her desert plan fell through? Her plan to make desert should have fallen through too.

I think she'll be back for the next All-Stars and she'll likely win it. She should hook up with Blais on a project, they have a lot in common!

All in all, an enjoyable season with a really strong field of chefs.

Click to expand...

Anything's got to be better than that joke of a show he hosted in HLN!

Don't get me wrong, I like Blais - and Flip Burger Boutique is well worth the trip (can you say Krispy Kreme milkshake?), but that show was laughable - and not in a good way.

I believe they mentioned that she did more (2?) courses than the required 4. Even If she had thrown together some sort of savory course, it was bound to be better than a thrown together desert. She admits deserts are a weakness of hers as do most savory chefs. I still think that when her desert plan fell through? Her plan to make desert should have fallen through too.

I think she'll be back for the next All-Stars and she'll likely win it. She should hook up with Blais on a project, they have a lot in common!

All in all, an enjoyable season with a really strong field of chefs.

Click to expand...

Her two other courses really weren't much in the wa of courses. One was fruit that was cubed and slightly seasoned, and another was a mouse to go with baked breadfruit. I don't know that she could have substituted those.

I have a feeling that they have to state what they are doing ahead of time (the menus have to be printed among other things) and ended up being locked in to do a dessert. She didn't purchase enough of the other items to use them as a substitute, and 2 appetizer kind of ideas weren't going to work on a 4 course meal.

It also seemed like they didn't give her any credit for doing those 2 other things, and I think they kind of should have. She did do more, and those 2 were good. Nick did scream all over his restaurant, which should have dinged him more.

I have a feeling that those several hours were them deciding if the 2 extra bits of Nina's should be part of her review and which restaurant, overall, they wanted to go to (which, I have a feeling, those 2 extra 'courses' were enough to tip the scale in that direction). Without those 2 extra courses, it's possible that they really didn't want to go to her place.

Especially with Tom, who IIRC preferred Nick in 3 of 4 courses. Ultimately I think he drives the bus on who wins. The good news for me is that Nick will be probably opening a place in Philadelphia so I can go and eat there, moreso than Nina in Miami. (And there's the mothership Scarpetta in NYC anyway). We went to Kevin Sbraga's (Top Chef winner in I think in S07?) place in Philly a few months ago, and had a delicious and not over-priced meal.

Tom is the HEAD Judge. He throws that weight around when he feels he needs to.

Personally, I like that Nina added in some extras in there. They were both well received and both add to making a more complete dining experience. The criticism was that the effort put into those could have better been put into the dessert. Or some other final savory course.

The breadfruit course wasn't all that unique, IMO. I had breadfruit in a similar preparation in Maui when I was there (different thing to dip into, though). I think it's fairly common. They gave her too much credit for that.

It wasn't the breadfruit that got her the credit, though. It was the foie gras mousse that went with it.

Click to expand...

I don't remember it that way, but it makes more sense. My recollection was that they (Nina and the judges both) kept talking about the bread course and the judges thought it was a clever bread course. Not really all that clever. Hopefully I am not remembering it correctly.

Tom is the HEAD Judge. He throws that weight around when he feels he needs to.

Personally, I like that Nina added in some extras in there. They were both well received and both add to making a more complete dining experience. The criticism was that the effort put into those could have better been put into the dessert. Or some other final savory course.

Nina definitely should have had more dessert recipes in her wheelhouse before she went to Hawaii. She should have been more prepared for that. If not, she should have done a cheese and fruit course or another savory course. Assuming that they would have an ice cream maker and not have another option to make it if they didn't was a poor decision on her part. Maybe she could have planned for a mousse or a custard if the ice cream maker wasn't there.